Tag fastener



Feb. 20, 1951 N. l. FLElscHl-:R ET A1.

TAG FASTENER Filed Dec. 29, 1948 @www M INVENTORS NATHAN LFLEISGHER ROY HOLLE BY v Patented Feb. r20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEl TAG FASTENER Nathan I. Fleischer and Roy Holle, Cincinnati,

hio, assignors to The Fleischer Mills, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 29, 1948, Serial N o. 67,866

y 2 Claims.

l This invention relates to tag fasteners, and more particularly to tag fasteners of the type used by the laundry and dry cleaning industries for securing identication media to garments and other items to be dry cleaned, laundered, or otherwise serviced. An object of the present invention is to provide a reenforced tag fastener which is constructed in such a manner as to facilitate positive attachment to an item, in response to a simple squeezing operation on the part of an operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tag fastener including a combination piercing and locking tongue adapted to readily pierce those items to which the tag is to be attached, and wherein the free end of said piercing tongue will be automatically and securely locked to another portion of the fastener, incident to a squeezing operation, whereby the locking tongue will be turned upwardly thereby positively anchoring said tongue against accidental or unintentional disengagement from that portion of the fastener with which it is engaged, for eectively precluding accidental or unintentional disengagement or removal of said fastener from the item to which it is attached, incident to rough or unusual handling to which it may be subjected.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tag fastener including a piercingtongue-engaging-portion which is constructed and arranged in such a manner as to insure positive locking engagement with portions of a piercing tongue inserted therein, and wherein said locking action is emphasized or augmented incident to the application of an outward pull on a tag secured to an item by the fastener. In those prior art devices with which we are familiarA the locking action of the piercing tongue elements is seriously impaired and often rendered ineffective by an endwise pull on the identification tag secured to ankitem by a fastener; such an endwise pull tending to withdraw or unseat the tongue element from its locked position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved tag fastener wherein an identification tag is positively secured to the fastener, being located intermediate the legs thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tag fastener one leg of which comprises a single thickness of material, the other leg of which comprises a double thickness of material.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a tag fastener having the hereinabove mentioned characteristics which may be detached or removed from a garment in response to a deliberate action on the part of an operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tag fastener having the hereinabove described characteristics which may be inexpensively fabricated using modern mass production methods.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and as disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a length of strip material formed in accordance with the teachings of the presentl invention and ready to be bent to provide a tag fastener.

Fig. 2 is a side view, partly in section, of a tag fastener fabricated from the blank of Fig. l,

showing the fastener in a ready-to-attach condition.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the fastener of Fig. 2 secured to an item in an attached, fully closed or locked position.

With reference to Fig. l the numeral lil de notes generally a length of strip sheet material provided with a combination piercing and locking tongue l2 and a tag attachment wing I4, struck therefrom, said tongue and wing being provided in leg i6, which may, if desired, be set off from the strip by means of a score mark I8. Those portions of the strip remote from leg I6 are provided with a lateral offset 26, and an aperture 22, as illustrated.

The blank of Fig. l may be formed whereby to comprise a single leg and a double leg, said double leg being formed by bending inwardly about axis 24, those portions of leg 25 located beyond lateral offset 2E! and axis 25s into a position in overlapping relationship with the concave side of said offset in leg 2S for providing a fastener leg having a double thickness.

The single and double leg of the fastener may be bent on an axis passing thru score or fold line I8 for providing the V-shaped fastener illustrated in Fig. 2, it being understood that a suitable identifying tag 39 may be disposed on and permanently secured to the inner face of leg i6 by means of wing lf3 which may, as clearly disclosed in Figs. 2 and 3, be folded or crimped downwardly over the upper edge of a tag 3S.

As disclosed in Fig. 2 a tongue receptive pocket 32 is formed when inner leg 26 has been folded over offset 2li, it being further observed that aperture 22 is located adjacent and overlying 3 offset portion 20 for controlling access to pocket 32.

With reference now to Fig. 3 it will be observed that the fastener may be secured to an item denoted generally by the numeral 4I] by the application of a squeezing force for the purpose of bringing the single and double legs together, whereby tongue I2 will rst pierce thru item 40 and then pass into and thru aperture 22, thence into pocket 32. As the tongue is thus introduced into pocket 32, its forward edge will engage offset portion 2U which will deflect .the free end of tongue I2 upwardly, away from the juncture 46 of the single and double legs lof 'the fastener, for disposing said tongue in the Yrelative position illustrated in Fig. 3.

It will be observed that .a downward pull ron tag 30, in a direction indicated by the headed arrow 4I, will augment the looking relationship of tongue I2 with aperture 22 and pocket 32, thereby leffectively precluding removal `or withdrawal fof the tongue 'from 'said pocket. This feature is of particular importance .from a practical standpoint -s'ince identi-cation Vtags are quite frequently accidentally -or unintentionally detached from the .ite-nis to Awhich -they 'have been secured by reason of 1an vendwise pull on the identifying tag; such unintentional removal oc curring in the prior art `devices by reason `of `'the fact that the :locking tongues .are turned downwardly, that is, toward the juncture :between the legs, whereby the application of a downward force on the identifying, indicia :bearing 4tag will result in a withdrawal `of v'the `locking ltongue.

Our fastener completely lobviates such ,accidental or unintentional disengagement :of a fastener from an item to which vit has been secured.

Although our fastener will l:eiiectivfely resist removal kby reason `'oi an endwise pull A'directed thereto, such as, thru identification tag 35i, lthe fastener may, .nevertheless :be quickly and :eiectively detached from the item to which -it has been locked incident to the application of a separating force applied to the upper ends 42 and 44 of the legs. The application of such a deliberate force will eiiect a withdrawal oi tongue I2 thru aperture .22 incident to which withdrawal operation tongue I2 will be eiectively straightened, thereby Aeliminating possibility of said tongue from tearing, snagging or otherwise injuring itern 40 impaled thereon.

With particular reference know to Figs. 2 and, it will be observed that the inner panel or leg 2B of the so-called double leg elec'tively -reenforces the other panel or 'leg 28 in such a manner as to preclude bending thereof incident to normal manipulation of the device.

The double leg likewise effectively and-elciently precludes the occurrence of an undesiredfseparation of the legs incident to an endwise pull, such as indicated by the headed arrow 4I, Fig. 3, since elernentl 26, by reason of its coplanar .relationship vwith element 28 resists the otherwise distorting -eliects transmitted to said element via tongue .I2 passing through aperture 122.

metal bent into substantially equal portions forming two legs, one leg having a piercing and locking tong-ue struck up therefrom, the other leg Yhaving an oli'set in the body thereof adjacent the free end, an extension of the second leg being bent inwardly and over the second leg forming with the offset a .receiving pocket having an opening communicating therewith and with the opening overlying said olset, said opening adapted to receive the piercing and locking tongue when ithe two `legs are brought toward each other, the o'iset `being so lshaped as to form yan anvil Vwhich Iwhen engaged by the piercing and locking tongue extending through the `opening will vforce :the same outwardly in the receiving pocket 4toward the free end of the leg so that any pull on 'a 'tag :held iin v-the bend 'in -a direction away from the free vends of the ystri-p will yprevent vdisengagement -of vthe locking tongue from the receiving pocket.

f2. A tag fastener comprising :a single strip -oi' narrow metal bent into three substantially Iequal parts with one -o'f the ends lben't inwardly and over `the `center 4portion of 'the vistrip, the free end Ehaving two lstruck up -tangs thereon, the tang nearest the bend vadapted to retain a tag placed on the --fastener, an offset adjacent Aone end or" the central portion, the k'bent -over end having an opening vtherein overlying the -offset when that -end is lfolded over the center portion the opening adapted "to receive the second tang adjacent the Ifree vend of the strip, the loiset being so lshaped as to 'form an anvil vwhich when engaged `ley :the tang will 4force 'the same outwardly 'and 1 into a receiving pocket Fior-med by the oiset and the bent over -end `so that A'any -pull on `the tag in a :direction away vfrom the bend between the free end and center portion `-will gprev-ent disengagement of the tang from the receiving pocket.

`NATHAN I. FLEISCHER.

ROY THOLLE.

`-REliERENCES CITED '.The 'following .references are of record in the ile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number' ame Date *157,783 Koh-rile 13, V1891 1,96'1i80f6 Weiss June5, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number fCountry Date 125,195 Netherlands ll.\lov. :1.6, `1931 

